miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Has anyone ever had a problem getting silver ink out of cognac ostrich. There is a mark next to thread that I can't get out. Now the thread is starting to fray. Any suggestions?

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2002 6:35 pm

by gcunning

I just measured some feet in my shop. I usually measure in the house. It was a lot harder on me and my knees. Anyone willing to post some pics of your measuring "stool". In other words what kind of a chair do bootmakers sit their customers in. As I said photo's would help but a good discription would work. The more the better.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2002 7:09 pm

by Tex Robin

Gary,
Don't put it on so heavy and try a wet cloth to get it off. I don't have any trouble with it..

For measuring get a bar stool and use a heavy cardboard box or make a heavy wooden one about a foot and a half tall. Or build yourself a fancy one where you can stand up. My Father used to sit in the floor and take them , but I am not that limber..TR

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2002 8:17 pm

by dw

This is not really an appropriate subtopic for discussing silver pens but....

A couple quick observations about silver ink and silver ink pens. they're not all created equal. Some will come off easier than others. I used to get pens from Ward and Kennedy in Milwaukee that came off easily. I don't know if they still carry them.

I have also used these gel pens from the stationary store. You have to be a lot more careful with them. I've found that RW Williams Saddle Dressing (is that the name of it, Jake?)...if applied over the silver ink and allowed to set for several minutes, takes it off nicely.

Finally, never use your silver pens over any leather that has even a trace of talcum powder on it unless you want to throw it away shortly. The talcum clogs the ball point irrevocably.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 7:10 am

by Lisa Sorrell

Gary,
I use Bic4 to remove the ink from silver pens. It will usually take it right off, but I've noticed that it works better if the ink is not older than two days. It will still work after that, but once in a while not as well.

I buy all my silver pens from Ward and Kennedy by the way--they do still carry them. And I have a couple of dozen, if anyone needs silver pens.

You can lightly pass a cigarette lighter over your frayed thread, and burn off the "fuzzies." Hopefully the bulk of the thread is still intact.

I have hopes of getting some sort of measuring chair built for me when I move into my new shop. I'm thinking of something along the lines of a shoeshine chair. Right now I just have a regular chair that I have the customer sit in. It's firm and straight-backed. I bought a gardener's stool at Home Depot. It's low and square and it rolls, and it slides easily under my measuring chair for storage. I sit on it to measure feet. The fact that it rolls makes the job a lot easier.

Lisa

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 8:58 am

by jake

D.W.,

Yes sir.........R.M. Williams Saddle Dressing. You can get it from King's Saddlery in Sheridan, WY (800-443-5619). Another trick is to place some rubber cement over the ink and let dry. Then take your plantation crepe and rub off. The ink will stick to the rubber cement.....hopefully!

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 12:05 pm

by RileyCraig

Lisa,

I would like to purchase a couple of those silver pens from you. Just let me know how much.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

In many old pictures of the footwear industry in England a canary in a cage is shown. Does anyone know the significance of this?

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 8:21 am

by D.A. Saguto--HCC

Keith,

Though I know of no exact reason behind this, caged birds, supposedly taught to talk too, were popular with shoemakers time out of mind. The practise is shown in European art too--Tenier's oil of the 1640s [?]immediately comes to mind, as well as other Dutch shoemaker paintings. I would be glad to hear if anybody can add to this topic. Formerly, according to Thomas Dekker, we were noted for singing while we worked too, and he gives several shoemaker songs in his 'Shoemakers' Holiday'.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 7:12 pm

by gcunning

I just made one mistake that I have been consistently warned about.
--When grinding on the heels stay out of the counter and uppers.--
I put on a couple of heel caps on a pair of old work boots for my father. I was grinding the heel caps to match the heel. I needed a little more light. I have a clip on light and moved it where it was JUST perfect. I started back grinding. The light kind of bobbled and I guess that was all it took to get into the counter. Now the problem is I never even knew I got into it. It was one of those OH **** moments! I don't care that they were old boots. I wanted them to look perfect. I then continued my idiot dance. I started to try and fix the counter before I put die on the heels. So I polished the boots and then put neutral melitonen (sp) over the vamps and counter. I was not careful where it went because I thought this product should not hurt anything. I got some on the heel. I then went to die the heel. Well, now it will not take the die( I KNEW THIS). I finally ground the heel just a little and it took the die. Now, I know this was a cheap pair of boots. I know that it was better to learn the lesson this way. I just wished I would have put it down, gone on to something else then thought the situation out.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 8:08 pm

by bultsad

Gary,
My father-in-law drilled into my head to always keep my hands wrapped over the counter when finish grinding the heels. He said my hands would heal if I got careless but the boot leather would not. I have got some ugly knuckles, but I do not skin a boot very often.
Jim B

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2002 2:55 am

by jake

Gary,

Another trick is to rubber cement a piece of scrap leather (kidskin, etc.) around the countercover (be careful with a naked leather). When done shaping the heel, just pull off and rub any residual glue off with plantation crepe. In Sam Lucchese's book, A Lifetime With Boots, I noticed a picture depicting this method of protecting the countercover.

This way you leave those knuckles pretty and smooth. That "sweet-thang" you're dancing with on Saturday night will appreciate it.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 7:48 am

by Lisa Sorrell

I'm resoling a pair of boots. I needed to stretch them a little, so I wet them down and stuck the last back in. The problem is that they molded. There's mold on the inside counter and underneath on the insole. Are they ruined? Do I just scrape it off and forget about it? They're for my husband--will any traces of it left damage his feet someway?

Lisa

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 6:25 pm

by gcunning

Carl C. advice was clean it off and go. What I found out was the mold embeds itself in the fibers and waits to reproduce. Being embedded in the fibers makes it really hard to kill out. There was an article in the L/C and saddlemakers journal a few issues back. It seems like it might have been a small series about mold and care. As far as harm goes most are harmless to us other than inhalant irritants. Let me know if you don't have the past journals and I will try and look it up for you.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 7:00 pm

by Tex Robin

Gary,
I don't necessarilly agree with that. The mold may be there to flare up again but I have not found that to be the case. The main concern is the cause. Evidently the boots were put up wet in a damp place to dry or it wouldn't have happened in the first place.TR

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 7:37 pm

by lenboden

Gary,
I have used a sponge wet with Lysol to get rid of mold once. It seemed to work well.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 9:17 pm

by gcunning

I need to make myself clearer. After mold has set in it is very difficult to get rid of microscopicly. You may never see it again but once its there it is very hard to get anything to penetrate that will kill all of it. If you do the chemical would have to be very caustic, to kill EVERY spore. Again if you get mold and then take care of the leather that it has infested you should never see it again. This is predomantly a "creature" that can set dormant for a VERY long time Tex I think I see your point it really doesn't matter how it got there its how to treat leather so it rarely happens or take care of it when it does. I have seen mold on cased insoles a few times.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 9:37 pm

by Tex Robin

Gary,
I understood what you said the first time. And I still disagree with the theory that it will set in or lurk for a long time and then reappear. My experience with it is that when wiped off or washed off with plain water and the boots are keep out of a moist environment there in no re-occurance of the mold. TR

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 6:22 am

by rosynay

All:

I live in a part of the country that is warm and
frequently damp. This is an ideal setting for
mold to get started and is an area where toxic mold is invading a lot of houses.
Before air conditioning many years ago we had attic fans for cooling which pulled the typical humid South Texas air into the house. Under such circumstances one hot and damp day upon opening the closet door all my shoes were covered in mold. The point is when you get warmth mixed with moisture you have mold.
Dry heat will more than likely contain the mold
if one does not mind the risk of health
concerns in wearing apparel which contains the mold spores. Me, I wouldn't put on a pair of
moldy boots or shoes if I had to go barefoot.
There is a lot of health information out there pertaining to the dangers of exposure to mold. RL

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 7:57 am

by gcunning

Well most of this is mute. Tex I would never argue with seniority in bootmaking. I will always bow to the wiser. Tex remember I'm a science geek. When I come down I will let you pick on me all you want about bootmaking and then we can discuss the finer points of mold

Rosemary I can tell you that if you will do like Tex said and wipe the mold away, wearing the shoes will never cause you a problem. Now if you are wearing shoes with mold on them yes the spores might be enough in number to start to cause problems. The reasons that you gave about mold are valid. The problem is you can't wipe the majority of it away like you can on the bottom of a shoe. The mold cannot be climate controlled to keep it at bay like a shoe can.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 8:09 am

by Tex Robin

Gary and all,

No problem . but everything you read in books is not necessarilly true but the writers opinion.

I will say this one more thing about mold and then it will be forever dropped...

I served in Panama for two years in the Army and every morning we had green mold growing on our combat boots. The remedy was to take them daily to the shine room have them wiped off and repolished. We kept our Dress uniforms in a heated locker to keep the mold from getting them.
I don't know what the temp was but anything in there didn't get any mold...TR

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 9:24 am

by jake

Lisa,

I guess I've been lucky, but I've always used a 50% dilution of "stretching" fluid mixed with water to use in any boot process which requires the leather to be moist. The alcohol in the stretching fluid tends to keep (or kill) the mold spores from forming. Also, the soaps in the stretching fluid will aid in lubrication of the leather fibers, which is critical in "stretching" the leather for your intended purpose.

If I was in your situation, I would probably use a very diluted solution of sodium hypochloride (bleach) to remove and kill the spores. Just use this solution in a spray bottle and wipe where applicable. I would then follow with an application of Montana Pitch Blend (the oil). This unique blend of pine pitch and mink oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties. I use it on my insoles and counters when I'm cleaning/conditioning my own boots.

I also have a big dehumidifier running in my shop at all times. This aids in keeping the humidity down in the shop.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:34 am

by bultsad

Lisa,
I will check in on this topic,too. I cannot help you with the mold problem once it has occured, but I can tell you what I do to prevent this from occuring when I soak veg tan leather. A couple of capfuls of vineager in a half gallon or so of water usually alleviates the problem. Just soak your items with the vineager treated water and mold has a diffucult time forming. I suppose it is the acidic nature of the vineager that stops the mold. Anyway, it works and does not change or damage the leather in any way.

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2002 11:53 am

by gcunning

Tex you are right. See how much well toasted bread molds.

My point is mold is everywhere it is hard to kill completely (it is not hard to actually kill it is hard to get all of it). So first prevent from an initial infestation i.e. moisture.
Next control if infested.
Try this little experiment: After leather has been infested with mold wipe it down completely with any chemical you want (do not soak). Sterilize a baggie. Put the leather in the baggie and make sure it is out of light and has plenty of moisture. If mold doesn't pop back up in 30 days I'll buy your lunch (one time offer, only valid where approved, special circumstances may apply

Re: miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2002 4:56 am

by D.A. Saguto--HCC

Lisa,

I concur with Jim. Try mixing a 50% solution of white, distilled, apple cider vinegar and regular water. Put it in a plant sprayer bottle, and squirt the affected leather heavily. Also works on mildew.